42 thoughts on “P&Q: Buttery Jam Cookies”

One thing, since I’m currently pulling the second sheet of these cookies out of the oven right now (perfect timing, eh?) – these don’t spread. At all. If you don’t want them to look like little balls, squash them down a bit.

My dough is not thick, yet I added all the flour plus a bit more. I guess I’ll add a little more and see what happens. I can’t wait to taste them baked. I used apricot jam and it really tastes great with the ground ginger.

I made these last night. I used blackberry jam – it was all we had. They ended up sort of an interesting shade of purple/gray. Just so you know, in case that shade may bother you. Also, I thought my first batch was a little overdone at 10 minutes.

Ive made these about 3 times in the past 3 months. I used the original recipe once, with the apricot jam and ginger. I loooove them. I used a 2 inch scooper and they come out a lovely domed shape. Ive also used black raspberry, which agreed, makes them a very odd purpley-grey color. Still tasty as can be though. Strawberry jam works too.

I think when I make them this weekend, I will use the original since I enjoyed that the most so far.

I just made these and I’m sorry to say that I’m very disappointed in terms of taste. I followed the recipe to a “T” and I found them to be tasteless and bland. To spice them up a bit, I dipped them in melted butter and swirled them around a cinnamon and sugar mixture.

FYI: These cookies didnt spread and baked the exact way they were scooped which didn’t bother me. I like the way they look as cute little domes.

This is the first Dorie recipe that I didn’t care for :( I hope you all get better results!

I used a scoop to form mine (cheap little thing from Target, a Wilton product). I used strawberry jam in mine and I ADORE these cookies! I will pull them out of the oven at 10 minutes next time, instead of baking them for 12 minutes. Watch these, as the bottoms get dark awfully fast. DELICIOUS!

We’ve eaten almost all of these already. They are pretty good, but they do need something…not sure exactly what. I found that I didn’t really like the ground ginger with the apricot after I baked them–the dough was great. My husband really liked them. They taste like sweet little biscuits.

I made my cookies with homemade grape jam and they turned out to be quite tasty. My teenage daughters spread vanilla frosting on their cookies and thought it was the bomb! These were easy to make and turned out good.

Hmmm. I made and posted these a few weeks ago and had no trouble at all. Mine spread a little bit and made a tender and nice cookie with great flavor. I have made the apricot/ginger version and just made another batch with raspberry jam. I wonder if the thickness of the jam affects how yours are not spreading. Also, what I really wonder is if perhaps those that are not spreading at all are overmixing the dough? I have been very careful both times and finished mixing them by hand since Dorie specifically says not to overmix at all. I scoop mine out into little balls with a small scooper and they spread into about two inch tender cookies. I hope that helps a bit for anyone who is still waiting to make these. We love them around here (my 5 year old can’t get enough of them!)

Oh. Also, I baked mine for the minimum amount of time on a parchment lined sheet. I wonder if those who are having the bottoms darken too much are baking them on nonstick or dark pans? I have noticed that when I use those kinds of pans I have to turn the temp in the oven down or everything browns too much. (I often remember this when it is too late and I have burned something!) ;)

I made them this morning. I used a small cookie scoop and they didn’t “flatten” but they did puff up and out. I loved the dough and after they sat a while I tried a cookie. I think they are a very good “tea” cookie. They are quite plain but still taste delicious to me. I used the apricot jam and ginger.

I made a half batch today using apple jelly that I already had in the fridge. I really wanted to use raspberry or marionberry but I was worried about the cookies looking slightly grey like others have reported. They turned out really well! They stayed round, and I must admit I’m surprised I like them as much as I do. The jelly taste is indeed noticeable.

Debbie Michel – I used apricot preserves and it was fine. I don’t think it made that much difference. I had the same issues as most people above; didn’t spread too much, barely tasted the apricot and tasted like a sweet biscuit. Very tasty, if you like biscuit consistency which I happen to love.

The whole batch is gone…one bite wonders…the guys loved them and were popping them right and left. I squirreled away six for a photo shoot and after I was done, I turned my back, and those were gone. I used apricot preserves. Guess I will try some with strawberry next, make them when they are out of the house, hide them so I will have some for the cookie trays at Christmas. I had one…delicious.

Holy mackerel, these are some really REALLY good cookies! Another I’d never heard of and probably would’ve bypassed entirely had it not been for TwD. I like recipes with at least one picture of the final product so I have a clue what I’m shooting for but this recipe had no pictures :( So glad I didn’t pass these up… once baked, DH and I found them hard TO pass up!!

These were really good! I didn’t exactly get the ‘flaky’ texture Dorie describes, more cakey. I made my cookies with blackberry and strawberry jam, and the blackberry ones were indeed purplish with a touch of grey. The fruit flavor was faint like many other bakers described, but they were still yummy!

I used a mixed berry jam, they spread just a tad, and the texture reminded me of snowball cookies but with jam instead of nuts. I might toss them in powdered sugar next time. The jam added to the taste but nobody could guess what it was. We loved these!

I made mine yesterday and used a strawberry/raspberry w/Godiva liqueur homemade jam my aunt made. I checked this thread before I made them and followed Holly’s advice about not overmixing. After putting the dry ingredients in, I only used the stand mixer for a few turns and did the rest by hand. They spread perfectly! I only got 25 cookies but i made them a bit bigger than Dorie recommends

I really enjoyed these. They are very addictive! The jam I used came through nicely. I’ll have to try another type of jam to see if I like them just as much.

I made mine with apricot jam and candied ginger chunks. I’m glad I used the ginger, I think I would have found them a little boring without it. I unexpectedly ended up having to refrigerate the dough for a few hours before baking the cookies and they turned out just fine.

Has anyone tried hiding a little bit of jam in the middles? This seems like an ideal cookie to do that with, since the dough is so sturdy. Might provide the oomph necessary for those who thought they were bland.

I made mine with Strawberry preserves and chunks of candied ginger. They were amazing, and even better the next day. I made mine using my typical cookie scoop and they had a nice dome and just a little spread. I shut the mixer off after a couple of turns with the dry ingredients as well.

Caitlin – I was thinking about trying to make thumbprint type cookies with these to get a punch of the jam/preserve flavor.

This recipe made me so excited about this group. It is definitely recipe I never would have tried and my husband and I thought they were quite good. I would compare them more to a biscuit though. I used apricot fruit spread…. sorta’ like jam, but no sugar added. And I liked that a lot as the cookies weren’t overly sweet. I had candied ginger in the pantry and forgot to add some. Shucks! I will definitely do that next time. So yummy with a cup of tea. My cookies did spread, although not a whole lot. :-)

I made the recipe and as I was reading that they were not very full of flavor I decided to double the amount of jam and add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. After doing that, I have to say it… they are on the sweet side and very soft. They don’t brown much on top. I used a full tsp and then flatten them with a table knife. They spread a tiny bit and puff some too. I want to try the original recipe, maybe I’ll like them better.

Just finished these tonight (it’s night in Italy!). When I bake a cookie, I really want it to have some type of indulgent, wow factor. These were just ok, not very flavorful (as others have mentioned) and I definitely don’t find them calling my name right now. (Let’s just say there is a plateful of them in the kitchen; my chocolate smore’s cookies would be all gone by now!). I wet my fingers and shaped some into hearts, and others I topped with a bit of dried apricot soaked in ameretto, to make them look a bit fancier. I think they would be decent with afternoon tea.

Made mine and I thought they were good. Im thankful for this group too because I never would have made them otherwise! I barely mixed each of the ingredients so that I wouldnt “over mix” and I also baked them for the minimum amount of time. Mine are super super soft. Probably the softest cookies I have made in quite some time. The husband enjoyed them too… even though I never thought he would. I think I will end up sharing them with neighbors or our mail man as christmas gifts

I know it’s a bit late but I just discovered this site. I too love Dorie Greenspan’s ‘Baking from My Home to Yours’ and baked this recipe over the summer. I had some leftover homemade lemon/lime curd (from this same book) and mixed that in since I didn’t have any other conventional jams. The ginger and lemon/lime mixture was great! The lemon/lime curd had a lot of butter in it already so it made the cookies spread a lot more than described above. The texture wasn’t exactly flaky, more moist and cakey but still very good. Subtle yet delicious flavor combination. I think I’ll try apple butter or strawberry jam next. :)